Pokemon Realized
by ShineyEyes
Summary: What if Pokemon were suddenly real? Would it be the best thing that ever happened or would it be the end of humanity? Join two best friends and their new Pokemon as they find out in this action packed adventure of fighting, danger and friendship.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! This is my first story, so be kind! Of course no flamers, but advice is welcomed with open arms! I have a recliner chair and cookies and a mug of hot chocolate waiting here for all constructive criticism. That's how welcomed it is! Anyway I also want to know what you guys think. If it's a thumb up, I'll keep writing it. If it's a thumb down, well, your loss. I'll just enjoy the story in my head for eternity.

So basically this story's main focus is on if Pokemon were real which who hasn't wished that at some point in their life? It focuses on two best friends who sort of get tied up in an experiment gone wrong and end up going on incredible adventures together as real live trainers. Interested? If so, feel free to read on. Enjoy!

Rated T for mature themes. This isn't some kid's anime show people. This is real life.

Also, I do not own Pokemon.

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A girl about the age of 16 was standing at her locker at the local public high school getting out her books for the next dreaded class. Math. The girl cringed at the thought. Math wasn't one of her strongest subjects, not that she really excelled at anything. She heard a loud booming laugh coming from down the hall and she turned her head to find the source. A group of some of the future "frat boys", as she called them, were strutting towards her. She watched as they kept walking towards her, joking around with each other. They didn't seem intent on moving over a bit to pass. As they got closer, the girl practically pushed herself inside her locker as one of them brushed passed her. She scowled at them as they passed by and they glanced at her. They looked at each other with huge grins and then started snickering to each other, as if it was some big joke. The girl sighed. At least they had somewhat acknowledged her. Usually she was completely invisible.

The girl in question was named Lizzie. She had dark brown hair which was mostly always up in a messy pony tail, with only her one blonde bang hanging down beside her face. She was wearing a black, short sleeved zip-up hoodie and a jean skirt that wasn't so short that she looked like she was trying to draw attention, but just cut right above the knees. Under the skirt she wore leggings and on her feet she had some black and pink running shoes. She stood at about 5"5. On her face was a simple make up job: a light coat of pink lip-gloss, some eyeliner and mascara. She was told several times that her bright blue eyes were her best feature, so she tried to accent those as best as she could. She wasn't exceptionally pretty. Just average. Average looks, average weight and average grades. That was the best way to describe Lizzie. Average. Average and invisible.

She still had 10 minutes before class so she decided to go find some people she knew. She walked down to the end of the English hall where the people she usually hung out with during the day sat. She saw most of the gang there. Katie, Anne-Marie, Holly and Teresa. "Hey guys." Lizzie greeted with a smile. The four of them lazily looked up at her.

"Hi." Katie yawned. She was always tired in the morning. The rest of them gave her a small smile. Then they looked away and carried on with their conversation.

"So you guys saw what happened on "Ruptured Drama" last night right?" Holly asked. Lizzie has heard of the show. It was the newest popular soap opera on the TV. It had the usual things like heartbreak, and then getting back together, then someone does drugs, then someone dies and everybody cries. Nothing she was interested in.

"Oh yeah, Kevin and Julia got back together again!" Katie exclaimed. Lizzie snickered at the predictability.

"Yeah and they totally don't even know that being together is bringing out that curse that will kill them!" Anne-Marie cried.

"That's called dramatic irony." Lizzie explained. They looked up at her with raised eyebrows. Lizzie mentally kicked herself.

"Right, well, anyway, so did you see it Teresa?" Anne-Marie asked.

"I couldn't. I was busy with Jon last night." Teresa said dreamily. There was a collective "ooo" from the group.

"So did you… you know…" Holly implied.

"I'm not telling." Teresa winked.

"Oh come on! Give us the details!" Katie demanded. Teresa shook her head.

"Nope. I'm not revealing anything! But I'm like so in love with him guys. He's just so hot. Yummy." Teresa licked her lips to further make her point. Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"God, you're so lucky Teresa. I wish my BF were as hot as Jon is. He's taking me out this weekend but I think I might blow him off." Holly sighed.

"Why? What are you guys going to do?" Lizzie asked.

"The usual. We're going to see a movie and then go back to his house so I could watch him do homework because he "has to get into university". It's getting so old." Holly huffed.

"What a jerk. You're his girlfriend! He should be focusing on you, not school." Katie said with disgust.

"Well what's wrong with-" Lizzie started.

"I know! That's why I'm… Kind of thinking of dumping him. For another guy." Holly whispered. Everybody collectively "ooo'd" again.

"Why are you just mentioning this now! Spill. Leave nothing out." Anne-Marie coaxed.

"Well I met him at work and he's really sweet and has amazing hair! He asked me out this weekend. He wants to take me to the new restaurant in town. You know, The Lakeside Inn?" Holly explained.

"Oh how romantic! That place looks so expensive." Teresa squealed. Lizzie had also heard of the new restaurant. In fact she had been there with her family. They didn't stay long though. The place ended up being a cheap fish & chip shop, already dirty after being open only a week and the fish had a weird taste. Lizzie decided she should say something.

"Actually I've-" She started but was quickly interrupted.

"I know! It's so cute. I know its early but… I really think he could be the one!" Holly swooned. Lizzie sighed. She decided to give up and just let The Lakeside Inn be a surprise. Besides the topic of boyfriends was depressing her. She didn't have one and never have had one. The closest she had ever come was in grade 6 when a guy had a crush on her. He had moved away and she hadn't heard from him for 2 years. Besides, the saying "16 and never been kissed" was actually true for her. She looked at the clock. 2 minutes until math. At this point she thought she'd rather crunch numbers then stay here much longer with her friends… if you could call them that. There was only one thing Lizzie was looking forward to today. Her favourite sport ever was soccer. Something about kicking that ball around and working with her teammates towards a common goal just gave her such a thrill. She loved soccer and she had a game, tonight!

She found a little bit of comfort in the thought.

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"Okay, everybody line up to get your report card. Some of you may have to get it signed by your parents if you are failing and under 18, which I believe you all are." A middle-aged woman with a bad perm and glasses barked to her grade 11 homeroom class. As she handed out the report cards she muttered some things to the students that either made their faces beam or the colour drain from their face. Some of the students didn't seem to care what she had to say.

A girl with reddish blonde hair that grew a bit past her shoulders got to the front of the line. Her thin face was a creamy pale with a few freckles dotting her nose. She was wearing a thin, short cut long sleeved black jacket over a brown shirt that outlined her slim figure. On her legs she wore beige capris with brown and white shoes with a familiar cat monogram across the sides. She stood at about 5"4. Her pale face matched her pale green eyes that were always outlined by dark eyeliner. Along with that she wore some strawberry flavoured chap stick and some foundation. She was what was considered by most of the guys very attractive. She looked at the teacher holding her report card. The name on it read Macintosh, Alexandra.

"Very impressive report Alex. You have some of the top marks in your grade. You're on the school's honour roll." The teacher told her.

"Thanks, Miss." Alex said flashing a smile that revealed straight, white teeth. She took the report card and walked out of the classroom. As soon as she stepped from the door a tall guy with a good build and blonde hair tackled her in a crushing hug.

"Hey babe. How'd you do on your report card?" The guy asked. Alex returned the hug.

"Hey Dave. I got the same as always. I'm a nerd." Alex joked.

"Sure when it comes to school. But outside of school you're kind of a ditz." The guy named Dave laughed.

"Hey! That's no way to talk to your girlfriend!" Alex scolded giving him a playful shove. She turned to walk away but ended up smashing into the principal who was walking in the other direction.

"Watch where you're going." The principal grumbled.

"S-sorry sir." Alex flushed. Dave burst out laughing.

"See what I mean? Total ditz!" Dave chuckled. Alex rolled her eyes. "Oh come on you know I'm kidding Al." He said giving her a peck on the lips.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. So how's your report mister 'I'm so cool'" Alex asked. Dave ran his hand awkwardly through his hair.

"Oh that doesn't matter. What matters is your amazing report card." Dave said then he softened his voice and put his hands on her waist, giving her a sly look. "Maybe we should, you know, celebrate. Your good marks, the end of mid terms… maybe you could come to my house and we could, I don't know… maybe bring our relationship to the next level." He muttered.

"Dave, I told you, no." Alex sighed, pushing him away. Dave scowled.

"Why not? Alex, we've been going out for over a year! We've waited long enough." Dave argued.

"We've been over this! I'm just not ready. Please, I need you to understand that." Alex pleaded. He stood there in silence giving her a dark look. She hated when he got like this.

"Hey lovebirds." Said a short and stout girl with short black hair who just walked up. "Hey Alex, saw you totally K.O. the principal. Nice." The girl laughed. Alex slapped a smile on her face, and she could see out of the corner of her eye that Dave did too.

"Oh shut up Roxy." Alex smiled.

"Okay well I got to get to class. Later Roxy, Alex." Dave piped up. He gave Roxy a hug and then turned to Alex. He pulled her to him rather forcefully and tried to engage in a passionate kiss. Alex struggled out of his grip. Dave stood there giving her another dark look, his mouth hanging open slightly in surprise, and then stalked away.

"Oh, trouble in paradise?" Roxy asked. Alex could feel herself slap another smile on.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. Just boys being boys." Alex chuckled as they started walking to their next class.

"Girl you sound like you need some TLC. And I do not mean you watch John and Kate Plus 8 for hours. Listen, this weekend there's going to be slamming party at Ryan's house. Maybe we can get you hammered, for once." Roxy suggested, giving her a playful nudge.

"Oh yeah, that'd be great. But I can't. My brother has a baseball tournament this weekend, and they're making me go." Alex explained. It was true her little brother had a baseball tournament this weekend, but her parents weren't making her go. Not at all.

"Aw, your parents need to stop butting themselves into your life! Well one day we're going to kip nap you and then there's nothing your 'rents can do about it." Roxy decided as they got up to the classroom.

"Promise?" Alex laughed. As she saw Roxy walk into the classroom she felt her smile fade. Secretly, she really wasn't into partying and drinking like most of her classmates were. She had seen what that kind of life did to some people and she didn't want any part of that. Not that she'd ever tell Roxy or any of her other friends. It was just another day she spent being fake. The only place she could really be real was during soccer. She couldn't fake the way she played soccer, and she loved the experience. Plus, for some of her teammates she didn't have to wear a mask. She could really just be herself without worrying about peer pressure. She was looking forward to all of this in a game she was having tonight.

As she thought about this walking into the classroom, she felt a genuine smile creep on her face.

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"Hey, pass the ball!"

"Man on!"

"Shoot!"

These short commands were being thrown all around the field. It was a beautiful Friday night in southern British Columbia. Warm considering it was near the end of April, just near the beginning of soccer season. But it wasn't too hot that everybody was panting after 5 minutes. It was perfect weather for soccer.

Lizzie was back in the defensive line on the left side. She was on her toes making sure she was ready for whenever the ball came. A player on the other team started running up the left side with the ball. Lizzie started to run with her, angling her off. She felt her red jersey whip around her as she ran. She wasn't the fastest runner on the team, so she had to be cautious about not letting the other girl past her. Finally, Lizzie had the other girl cornered. She had no choice but to blindly kick the ball into the middle. She did so and a fellow defender quickly cleared out the ball.

"Nice clear." Lizzie puffed jogging back up to her position.

"Thanks, but it's just going to come back at us. The midfield are tired and they cant get the ball up to the forwards. We aren't going to last much longer like this." The other defender sighed. Lizzie knew this was true. The score was tied 1-1 and it was nearing the end of the game. If they kept playing tennis like this then they would eventually miss and get scored on. She looked across the field up past the midfielders who were struggling to keep possession. She looked towards the forwards who were looking rather bored. She made eye contact with a girl on her team with reddish blonde hair. Lizzie gave her a slight nod. They were far away from each other, but Lizzie could see that the other girl understood, for she returned the nod then started moving around as if trying to find a better position.

"Leave it to me. Just pass the ball to me next chance you get." Lizzie said to the other defender. It didn't take long. Soon someone on the other team was charging down the field, this time into the middle. Usually at this point she would cover the other forward, but for this to work she needed room. It was a chance she had to take.

"Lizzie!" The other defender cried as she stole the ball. She passed it over the Lizzie. She heard the quickened pitter-patter of the forwards charging towards her. She had a split second to look, then the booted the ball. She may not be the fastest on the team, but she definitely had one of the strongest kicks.

"Alex!" Lizzie shouted as loud as she could. Alex was ready. She had lined her self up and was ready when the ball came to her, flying over the midfield. She stopped the ball in its tracks as it hit her stomach. She quickly turned around carrying the ball at her feet as she blew past the defence. They had no chance after that. Alex really was the fastest player on the team, and she had yet to find anyone else faster. She faked out the goalie and kicked the ball in perfectly at the top left hand corner. It was a beautiful goal. The parents of the red team went crazy, as did the coach. Lizzie and the defence were able to hold their own the rest of the game and they won 2-1.

"Alex! That's my girl. I knew you'd come through." The coach bellowed, giving her head a rub.

"Thanks coach, but I couldn't have done it without Lizzie." Alex grinned.

"That's right. Nice pass Lizzie. Both of you, good team work!" The coach praised. Lizzie beamed. Lizzie and Alex had known each other for 3 years. They had met on a soccer team. They go to separate schools and live across town from each other, but after that first soccer season they met they had kept in touch and had become the best of friends.

"So, you ready?" Lizzie asked Alex, putting her soccer ball under her arm.

"Of course." Alex nodded. They had planned to hang out together after the soccer game, maybe walk to a coffee shop and sit for a while. An older man looking a lot like Lizzie walked up to them.

"So, Lizzie, you'll call me on your cell phone when you're ready to be picked up?" The man said.

"Yes Dad. I'll call you maybe around 10." Lizzie replied. The man nodded and walked away. It was about 6 now. That gave them about 4 hours.

"Oh, and Alex, we'll give you a ride home too." Lizzie's dad offered.

"Thanks Mr. Davidson." Alex thanked. Her parents had been at the game, but they had to leave early to get her little brother ready for his tournament.

"Okay so, where to? Want to take the path over the creek to get to the café?" Lizzie asked.

"Sure, let's get going." Alex agreed. They started walking away from the field to a forested area. It had a hill and a path that went into a bridge over a beautiful creek with fish swimming through it. The path eventually leads to a road, which would bring them into town. The sky was already turning a deep blue. It was early for the sun to start setting, but you could tell the days were getting longer.

"So, how was school? Anything new and exciting happen in the life of Alex Macintosh?" Lizzie asked. Alex chuckled.

"Same old same old. Got my report card." Alex shrugged.

"Let me guess. 80's and 90's?" Lizzie smiled.

"No actually. Just 90's this time." Alex joked.

"You are such a nerd." Lizzie laughed.

"That's what I said!" Alex joined in laughing. "So what about you?"

"Oh my god, well I found out that Kevin and Julia got back together in Ruptured Drama, but there's a curse that's going to kill them!" Lizzie squealed.

"No. Way." Alex said in mock surprise. They both burst out laughing. Alex didn't watch the show either, but her and Lizzie never missed a moment to make fun of it. They started walking over the bridge. Lizzie looked into the glimmering waters. For one second, her eye caught a flash of something. She thought she saw some large red fish that definitely didn't look normal.

"Whoa!" Lizzie gasped.

"What?! Lizzie, what?" Alex jumped in surprise.

"Nothing. It's just I thought I saw… A fish. But it was weird it was almost like… like… never mind. It was just a weird fish." Lizzie stumbled on her words. She thought the fish had looked familiar. But she just dismissed it. It was impossible. Alex eyed her warily.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. You don't have to take me to an insane asylum any time soon." Lizzie smiled assuring her.

"I'm not so sure about that." Alex joked, smiling along. She took a quick glance into the water though, just in case. She saw a tiny fish swim by, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. They crossed the bridge and kept walking.

"So, how's Dave?" Lizzie asked sort of grudgingly. She had never met him, only heard of him. But for some reason, Lizzie just got a bad vibe from him. She didn't know why. Alex's face contorted into a look of sorrow, staring straight forward and saying nothing. Lizzie noticed. "Oh… Did something happen again? I'm sorry." There had been something going on between the two for a while, and Lizzie had noticed. Alex hadn't told her what, but whatever it was it always made her upset. Lizzie didn't pressure her, but she always let her know she was there if she needed to talk. Alex looked over at her and her and the concerned look in her eye.

"No, no. Don't worry. Yes… Something happened. Again. But don't worry about it, okay? I'm fine, I promise." Alex reassured her. Lizzie didn't seem so sure.

"Okay, but you know-"

"If I ever need to talk, you're there. I know. And thank you." Alex smiled. It surprised her so much how well Lizzie knew her. She didn't even have to say anything and Lizzie just knew. This was surprising considering they'd only known each other for 3 years and most of their interaction happened over internet chat room. But then again, usually she knew what Lizzie was thinking too. That's why they work so well together in soccer games. Suddenly, her train of thought was broken by a large crack nearby. Then they heard a sort of chirping sound, but a weird chirping. Not natural.

"Um, what is that?" Lizzie asked, panicked.

"I'm… not sure. Want to go check it out?" Alex asked, unsure.

"Are you crazy? It could be dangerous! It could be a man-eating animal! Let's go see!" Lizzie joked, curiosity getting the better of her. Alex laughed nervously as they ran off the path towards the noise. They got a more cautious as they got closer. They could now hear the sound of small cries among the unnatural chirps. The cries, also unnatural, sounded like they were in trouble. Alex and Lizzie got to an area where the trees ended at a small meadow. They peered around a large tree into the meadow looking at the source of the sounds.

What they saw shocked them and would eventually change their lives forever.

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So let's recap. We met two of the main protagonists in this chapter. Both are best friends, but they're totally different when it comes to a social life. But they both have something in common: They're not very happy. Unless they're hanging out together. I just love friendships, as you know if you read my profile=) okay so let me know what you think!

ShineyEyes


	2. Chapter 2

Hiiiii! So this chapter is really long… Sorry. But it basically explains everything and sets the plot for the rest of the story. Not very exciting, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Nintendo or Buckley's

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"What… Is that… Are those… Lizzie, this isn't normal!" Alex's whisper had a panicked edge to it. And who wouldn't? Two best friends alone in the wilderness were staring at something that seemed to be yanked out from their childhood.

In the middle of the small meadow we're bright blue, flying blurs. The flying was erratic so it was hard to see them in great detail, but they could tell they were a large form of bats. A high-pitched chirping sound seemed to be coming from them. But they weren't the only things making sounds.

Below the large blue bats were two other creatures that seemed to be letting out the same strangled cries over and over. One creature was small, and was curled up into a fluffy, yellow ball. The ball had 3 brown stripes going it's back and, if looked closely at, two long ears with black tips could be seen. But the most peculiar thing was what seemed to be a tail in the shape of a lightning bolt sticking straight up. The second creature was reddish orange and had a long body like a lizard. The setting sun gleamed off its scales as if a fresh coat of wax and oil was just applied to the surface of the creatures skin. It was waving its small arms, as if trying to catch the blue bats. The bats stayed out of its reach, but regularly swooped down on the creature as soon as its guard was down. The creature was backing away, realizing it was fighting a lost battle. Like the yellow creature, its most peculiar feature was its tail, which had a burning flame at the end. It looked all too familiar for the friends, and they sensed a strange feeling of nostalgia looking at the scene.

"This… this is… insane. M-maybe we're hallucinating. That's got to be it. I-I-I mean this is im…impossible. What we're seeing. It can't be happening. It can't." Lizzie stuttered. Alex just nodded along with her mouth hanging open.

"We cannot be witnessing a Pokemon battle!"

As Lizzie said it, it just sounded even more absurd then it did in her head. But even so, nothing else could describe better what they were seeing.

"Pokemon. Wow. Okay. No ones going to believe this." Alex gaped. She had played the games and watched the show when she was little, but she had never even thought of the pocket monsters for years.

"I know it sounds crazy, but… I thought I saw a Magikarp in the water earlier." Lizzie recalled, also gaping.

"A… A Magikarp? Um… Let me think… Wasn't that like… really weak or something?" Alex found herself asking. For some reason asking about it and finding at least some sort of answer felt better then standing there being clueless.

"Yeah it was… weak but it evolved into a Gyarados which is actually really… powerful." Lizzie found herself answering, as if it was common sense.

"I can't believe you remember that." Alex whispered. Lizzie felt herself flush.

"I guess I have a good memory." At this point she remembered what it was that was going on right in front of her. "And I remember um… Those are Zubat. And that's a Charmander there. And that's-"

"A Pikachu. Even I remember that one. Did I mention I hate bats? Normal bats. These are just ridiculous." Alex shuddered.

"Shouldn't we do something? The Charmander and the Pikachu are like… Being attacked." Lizzie suggested.

"Are you insane?! They're Pokemon! Pokemon! We shouldn't even be having this conversation! Maybe we _are_ insane." Alex's eyes went wide at the realization.

"Insane or not, I happen to love animals… Even fictional ones. And those ones happen to be under attack." Lizzie argued. Alex had to agree. She picked up a small rock off of the ground.

"How's your throwing arm?" Alex asked. Lizzie smiled in spite on the situation. If she was going insane she was going to enjoy it. Real, live Pokemon. It was her childhood fantasy come true.

"Horrible. But I have a good kick." Lizzie gestured to the ball under her arm.

"I'll go around to the other side then?" Alex suggested.

"Gotcha." Lizzie nodded. Alex left and Lizzie put the ball onto a flat area on the ground and lined it up with the Zubat. When she was done, Alex was already on in position across the way. Lizzie gave her a nod and Alex nodded back. She felt the anxiousness seep into her stomach thinking about where this was going. She backed up and took aim.

"Alex!" Lizzie shouted. It was a reflex when passing the ball. The Charmander and Pikachu looked up out of their defensive positions in time to see a ball take out 3 Zubat over top of them. The ball touched the ground near Alex and she one-timed it back.

"Lizzie!" Alex yelled. This time the ball took out 2 Zubat as it went back to Lizzie. Lizzie went to kick it back, but by now the Zubat had realized what was going on and they were ready. They dodged the ball and followed it back to Alex, who panicked and left the ball, which was popped from a bite from a Zubat. The Zubat then started to chase Alex. She was lucky she was a fast runner.

"Ew! Ew! Ew! I hate bats! Oh my god, Lizzie, help!" Alex screamed. Lizzie was already swinging madly at the Zubats with a large stick. This seemed to do nothing but agitate them, and now the two friends were being attacked by, incredibly, a swarm of Zubat. The Charmander and Pikachu were watching the scene unfold with faces that mimicked the human's faces when they first saw the Pokemon. The two pocket monsters muttered a few words to each other (which were really just their names) and they both nodded and stood up.

"Char! Mander, char!" The Charmander shouted at the Zubat.

"Pika, pika. Pikachu!" The Pikachu chimed in. The Zubat instantly changed their targets and started flying at the two brave Pokemon.

"We got to do something Alex!" Lizzie said, running after the Zubat.

"Like what!?" Alex shouted after her.

"I don't know! See what you can remember from the game and the show!" Lizzie shouted back. Alex hesitated and bit her lip for a moment, and then ran after her. Lizzie was running for the Charmander, who was about to be dive-bombed by a bunch of Zubat. Her soccer instincts kicked in as she started to angle in. Just barely, she grabbed the Charmander and got it out of the way, but not without a sharp wing clipping the back of her neck. She hissed in pain but kept running. She looked down at the Charmander. "Charmander, I'm going to need you to jump off my shoulders and use scratch attack on the Zubat chasing us. Do you understand me? It's the best chance we got."

"Char." Charmander nodded. It climbed onto her shoulder and put as much power in its legs as it could. Then it leaped. It's small claws scraped across the Zubat as it jumped through the swarm. The Zubat staggered in the air, then flew off, followed by the frightened Zubat who weren't hit by the attack into the forest.

Meanwhile, Alex went to the Pikachu who was being swooped at by more Zubat.

"Cha!" The Pikachu cried.

"Hang in there… Pikachu! Okay think Alex… What was the attack? Lightning… something… Lightning spark? No, that's not it!" Alex grabbed her hair in frustration. She looked at the Pikachu under attack. "Think. Lightning… Thunder… Thunder? Thundershock!" She yelled. Pikachu's eyes popped open, recognizing the command. Electricity ran through the red pouches on its cheeks.

"Pika… CHUUUU!" It cried as sparks of electricity shot out of its body. The Zubat seemed to freeze in the air as electrical currents went through their small bodies. Then they fell to the ground. Alex smiled as she remembered another thing.

"Super effective." She smirked. Then she walked cautiously over to the Pikachu and noticed a bright red scrape on the Pikachu's left front paw. "Oh, are you okay? You poor thing." She muttered, kneeling down.

"Pika… chu…" The Pikachu said weakly, then it limped over closer to Alex. Alex carefully cradled the injured paw and stroked around the red area. It wasn't blood; it was as if someone had taken red marker and scribbled over the yellow fur. Alex felt a strange sense of endearment towards the mouse Pokemon. It seemed to feel the same way, as it gave Alex a lick of thank you on her hand. The lick left a weird tingly sensation on her hand, as if recovering from a spark after touching the car door on a dry day. Lizzie walked up with the Charmander in her arms.

"Making friends everywhere you go as usual I see." Lizzie smiled, nodding towards the touching picture.

"Same to you." Alex smiled back. The Charmander seemed to grin.

"Charmander!" It said. Then it jumped down and went to the Pikachu.

"Heh, yeah. Everywhere I go." Lizzie muttered. The Charmander and Pikachu started talking to each other softly. The Charmander seemed to be consoling the Pikachu.

"I wish I knew what they were talking about." Alex sighed.

"Yeah, I always used to wish that when I watched the show." Lizzie replied. There was a long silence as they watched the two Pokemon.

"This is still insane." Alex finally said.

"Yeah, we just fought in a real Pokemon battle." Lizzie chuckled. The chuckled got louder and turned into a laugh. Alex joined in and soon they were laughing their heads off. Everything was just so absurd; they had to just laugh it off. The Pokemon looked at them oddly, probably wondering what was so funny.

"Wow, weird day." Alex sighed. She looked down at a Zubat that was lying on the ground still from the electric attack. It twitched slightly, so she knew it wasn't dead. Just fainted. She felt a small urge to kick it.

"I don't think they'll pick a fight ever again." Lizzie referred to the Zubat.

"Yeah, I hope-" Alex started, but was interrupted by a rustling in the brush coming from the woods. Their heads shot in the direction, and both Charmander and Pikachu got up and stared into the direction, ready for another fight.

"Guess I spoke to soon." Lizzie's voice shook.

"Pikachu, get ready to unleash another Thundershock!" Alex commanded. Pikachu nodded and charged its cheeks, staring into the direction. A frantic voice met their ears from the direction.

"No, no! That won't be necessary I assure you! We come in peace and all that!" Said the voice. It had a high, English accent. Definitely male. Pikachu seemed to recognize the voice and immediately let up on the electricity. It visually relaxed along with Charmander. Two figures stumbled through the forest into the clearing. Both figures were human. Despite this, Alex and Lizzie did not relax right away.

"Sorry for startling you. I guess you all must be pretty confused." Said one of the men. He had a deeper voice then the original voice they heard. The owner of the deeper voice looked Japanese by origin. He was short, with black hair cut short. He was wearing brown pants and black shoes with a long, white lab coat on his torso. He wore a bright, apologetic smile. He also looked a little nervous and jumpy. His companion looked more interesting, and was probably the owner of the high, English accent. He was Caucasian, tall and thin. On his thin head was long, brown hair down to his waist tied back into a ponytail. At the end of his chin was a fluffy looking goatee. In front of his eyes he sported a pair of Elton John style glasses. He also wore a long, white lab coat with baggy black pants. On his feet were a couple of brown flip-flops. He seemed a lot more mellow then the other stranger. Both strangers looked to be about 30. Alex and Lizzie stared at them with dumbfounded expressions.

"They really do look quite frightened, do they not Jack? I could just imagine what is going through their heads right now." The hippy-type man chuckled. The other man, apparently named Jack, laughed along nervously. He took a careful step forward.

"I'm Jack Masuki, and my friend here is named Kyle Anderson." Jack introduced. He held out his arms in greetings, as if showing he had nothing harmful in his hands. Kyle hand his hands stuffed in his lab coat pockets and he was leaning back casually. Alex and Lizzie continued to stare. Too much weirdness in one day. There was an awkward silence, and Pikachu and Charmander both glanced between the two parties. Finally, Alex cleared her throat.

"Hi." She said timidly. She didn't want to give away her name to complete strangers who seemed to have an association with fictional monsters.

"Pleased to meet you." Lizzie added politely. Both teens were eying the men suspiciously.

"The pleasure is all ours, I'm sure." Kyle grinned. Jack sighed and ran his hand through his short, black hair.

"You're both teenagers, right? Any chance that either of you are on drugs?" Jack asked, somewhat hopefully.

"No." Alex said, taken aback. Were these guys drug dealers? Lizzie seemed to think the same thing and carefully glanced at Alex nervously.

"So no chance that either of you will think this experience was some sort of acid trip? That's a shame." Jack mumbled.

"What my friend here is trying to say, thank you for helping out our Charmander and Pikachu." Kyle smiled. He kneeled down and clicked with his tongue. Charmander and Pikachu headed over towards Kyle. "You see what happens when you escape the lab? I know you both want to help but you can't do any good without any trainers. You both know that." He scolded. Both Charmander and Pikachu seemed to hang their heads in shame.

"Ah, you seem to have gotten a little injury there, Pikachu. Here." Jack said. He pulled a spray bottle out of his coat. The bottle was small and seemed to be filled with a faint golden liquid. He leaned over and sprayed Pikachu's injured paw. Pikachu winced.

"Hey!" Alex fumed. Jack looked up in surprised at Alex's reaction. Lizzie quickly grabbed Alex's arm in fear she was going to storm over there. Jack's expression changed and he smiled a kind smile.

"No need to worry. It's a potion. It stings, but it heals. Ever heard of Buckley's?" He explained. He seemed sincere enough and Alex relaxed. Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief and let go of her arm. Kyle had pulled out his cell phone.

"Yes, can we get a cleanup crew over here? In the clearing about 1.5 miles from Base A. There's a pile of fainted Zubat here. Yep. Okay, bye." Kyle hung up and then looked at Charmander and Pikachu again. "You guys look absolutely beat. How does a trip back to the lab sound to recharge?" He asked. The pokemon nodded.

"Alright, come along then." Jack said to them. He turned to Alex and Lizzie. "Thanks again. And if you could pretend that this never happened, that would be great. Farewell!" He bowed. He and Kyle turned and began walking back into the forest. The pokemon gasped and looked back at the (still dumbfounded) teenagers. The pokemon shot longing looks over to their new friends, then followed after the two men. Both friends stood there, contemplating what to do. Lizzie hesitated for a second, and then took off after them.

"Lizzie! What are you doing?!" Alex shouted. She got no answer. She sighed and ran after her friend. It only took a few minutes before they caught up to the odd quartet. The pokemon turned and theirs eyes lit up. They ran toward the teens in excitement. Alex and Lizzie couldn't help but smile at the pokemon. Jack and Kyle turned around. Jacked sighed, while Kyle look bemused.

"Is there something you girls needed?" Kyle asked.

"Answers." Lizzie said bluntly. She leaned over to pat Charmander on the head. Pikachu had jumped into Alex's arms. She noticed the red mark on its leg had now disappeared.

"You owe me $20." Kyle chuckled to Jack. Alex and Lizzie raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, well. All right then, come along. We'll show you the lab where we created the pokemon." Jack sighed in defeat. The men turned around and began leading them. Pikachu stayed comfortably in Alex's arms, while Charmander walked happily alongside Lizzie. Lizzie and Alex exchanged a look. Created?

About 15 minutes later, they had walked in silence until they reached a broken tree. They stopped there. Alex and Lizzie exchanged another confused look. About quarter of the tree was still there, but there was no sign of the rest of the tree. It looked like a giant had come along and snapped ¾ of the tree off, leaving a thick, splintered stump not much taller then Kyle. "Well, here we are." Jack said nervously. He was obviously uncomfortable about showing someone the "lab", whatever that was. Kyle stayed mellow, as usual. Jack pushed a knothole on the side of the tall, splintered stump. A door whooshed open like in a sci-fi movie, revealing an elevator.

"Whoa." Alex and Lizzie both gasped. This was unreal. Way, way too much in one day. Alex half wished they had just walked away before, but half of her wanted to continue.

"You both can still just walk away and pretend you had an acid trip." Kyle smiled. Lizzie turned to Alex.

"You know the saying 'ignorance is bliss'?" Lizzie asked. Alex nodded.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Alex asked Lizzie. Lizzie shook her head.

"You?"

"Well, I have to admit this is really… exciting. Besides, having no idea what is going on is annoying the hell out of me." Alex chuckled. Lizzie gave Alex a knowing smile. They both hated being in the dark, and now they both knew their decision. As if to finalize it, Charmander tugged Lizzie's hand toward the elevator. The friends and the pokemon stepped into the elevator. Jack pushed a button, and the forest disappeared behind the door. The sensation of moving downwards lurched their stomachs slightly.

"So, I hope you don't think I'm being too forward but it would be nice to have your names." Kyle said. Lizzie breathed in deeply. Might as well go head first at this point.

"I'm Lizzie Davidson" Lizzie said.

"And I'm Alex Macintosh." Alex also said.

"Pleased to meet you both, Lizzie and Alex." Jack greeted. Kyle flashed a peace sign. At that moment their stomachs lurched again, announcing their arrival. The door whooshed open again and they cautiously stepped into the lab.

"This is unreal." Alex stared. Lizzie's eyes bulged and nodded in agreement. The huge room was dimly lit, and many advanced looking computers lined the walls, all blinking and bleeping. If they hadn't known they were under the forest, they would have thought they just entered a space ship.

"Welcome to Base A, the first of the Reality Pokemon Labs." Kyle announced, spreading his arms out, gesturing to the room. Jack walked over to a nearby computer.

"Reality pokemon?" Lizzie asked. She looked down at Charmander and across to Pikachu, which seemed to now be sleeping in Alex's arms. They definitely looked and felt like reality. They were created in a lab?

"Oh, right, can someone bring these pokemon to a Poke-Healer?" Kyle asked. Two people came over and took the two tired pocket monsters away. "So, how did if feel to fight alongside the pokemon? Was it enjoyable? I'm quite impressed you were able to handle it so expertly. Quite astonishing, really. Would you consider doing another pokemon battle in the future?" Kyle asked, his eyes alight in excitement.

"Uh…" Alex started. Jack huffed off to the side.

"You should probably start explaining things before you do more research, Dr. Anderson." Jack grumbled.

"Right. Quite right. So I'm guessing you're both familiar with pokemon?" Kyle asked. The teens nodded. "Well, here we take the idea from the show and the games and make it reality. You see, Dr. Masuki here had a dream, and that dream was to have pokemon realized. He worked with Nintendo on the early projects, and soon after the first games were released, he was hooked…"

Jack was standing outside large, metal doors. He was shaking, as was clear by the papers in his hands rattling. He was half nervous, half excited. He had an idea that would revolutionize the world forever, even more then the new games he and his team had just developed. He took a deep breath and walked through the doors.

"Hello, Mr. Tajiri." Jack bowed when he walked in. The young looking Japanese man sat at his desk and looked up from his work. He smiled politely.

"Ah, Jack Masuki, one of my star pokemon game designers. Amazing job with the games! They have shaped the world. There is even talk of an anime starting up about pokemon." Mr. Tajiri grinned.

"Thank you, sir. I am glad I could help realize one of your dreams. Now, humour me if you will with one of my dreams." Jack said, gaining a bit more confidence. Mr Tajiri leaned forward expectantly.

"Continue." He urged. Jack took a deep breath.

"Pokemon have inspired me so much. I believe it might be in the best interest of everyone if we were to create real ones as our next project." Jack explained. Mr. Tajiri's smile faltered slightly.

"I'm afraid I do not understand." He said. Jack felt sweat start to form on his brow.

"Just think about it, sir. All the children all over the world… It is their dream to have a pokemon companion. Just think of the possibilities! The responsibilities, the friendships that could be created with this! Instead of wars, pokemon battles could be fought. Lives would be saved. Humans and pokemon both working alongside one another, it could help to save the environment in some ways!" Jack explained, his eyes getting more excited as he spoke. Mr. Tajiri's smile had completely faded.

"That all sounds very good, Mr. Masuki. However, I ask that you do not bother me with fantasies any longer." Mr. Tajiri stated.

"But it's not just a fantasy, sir! Look at this research-" Jack thrust the papers towards his boss, "-we can pull it off! Data, sir, living data! I'm still at the beginning of my research, but I really think this can work!"

"Impossible! You've gone mad, Masuki. I don't want to hear another word about this nonsense." Mr. Tajiri scowled.

"But sir-"

"Not. Another. Word." He repeated. Jack faltered, and then turned to leave the room, defeated. Mr. Tajiri sighed. "As much as I would love for your dream to become reality, it's just impossible. I'm sorry."

Years later, back in the lab, Jack's eyes stared at the computer, his eyes misty from remembering as Kyle told it. Alex and Lizzie were both intently listening to the story.

"He didn't give up, though. He kept doing research, and kept working on it throughout the development of Gold and Silver. Eventually he was found out, and Mr. Tajiri fired him." Kyle continued.

"He knew I had something there, that's why he fired me. He believed it was too dangerous to have real pokemon. I knew I could perfect it though, with help." Jack explained further.

"So he came to me lab in England. He had heard of my computer expertise and asked for my help. To tell you the truth, at first I thought he was barking mad. But I liked that. As Aristotle once said, 'No great _genius_ has ever existed without some touch of madness'. So I helped him." Kyle said. He looked far off, remembering. "You see, I had inherited quite the fortune, so money was no option. As the project got larger, we got more and more scientists working on it. To say the least, I became obsessed with the project. We worked non-stop for years. Eventually, we created something. A Clefairy. It was unstable, and had no personality, but it was still real and alive."

"Alive computer data in reality?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"Precisely. It was very complicated. We were able to create the pokemon on the computer, and then with various technologies, we were able to actually download it into reality. We eventually got more and more updated and gave the pokemon personalities, types, attacks, and appearance. It's so advance, that not one of the pokemon we created are exactly the same. And they could even think for themselves. Even though they're just data, they had real feelings and a life. It was incredible!" Kyle laughed.

"Unfortunately, some of the more early prototypes ended up having… flaws. We had to move them to somewhere that was away from the public where they could roam free and away from harming anyone." Jack sighed. "So we moved the project to Canada. It has a lot of wilderness and open land, perfect for wild pokemon to start off. We even found an underground area where we put the faulty pokemon in to live peacefully."

"We couldn't destroy the originals. It would be like killing living creatures." Kyle explained with a smile. It was obvious he thought of the pokemon as his babies. "We have many different bases and labs all across Canada. Each one held about 500-1000 different pokemon. They were perfect, like those Charmander and Pikachu you fought with before. Young, so they still have room to learn. That's where the trainers come in."

"Lizzie Davidson… goes to Tree Field Secondary School. Maintains a 75.2% grade point average. Parents are George and Mary Davidson. No criminal record. Broken a lot of bones however, as pointed out from her medical records. Probably from soccer, which she has been playing since she was 5." Jack read off of the computer screen. Lizzie gaped at him.

"You see, we have to make sure we have a background check on all the kids so that we do not give a pokemon to a bad child who would abuse and misuse them. It is supposed to encourage kids to be more model citizens." Kyle explained.

"Alexandra Macintosh…" Jack continued. "Goes to Saint Joseph Catholic Secondary School. Maintains a 94.6% grade point average. Very impressive. Parents are Craig and Susan Macintosh. Hmm, what's this? In grade 10 she was arrested and held over night for vandalism. Her blood alcohol level was way over the limit, especially for a minor."

Alex winced at the fact. "It's not something I'm proud of, and it's definitely not something I'd plan on doing ever again." Alex muttered. She looked away, determined not to meet Lizzie's gaze. Lizzie put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. She knew about that crazy night and she had long forgiven her adolescent antics, but she knew Alex was still ashamed of it. She had gotten drunk with a bunch of friends and thought it would be fun to throw a few rocks through a convenience store window. Lizzie never liked the fact that one of those friends was now Alex's current boyfriend, however.

"Well, you have been clean since then, and you seem to truly regret it. We're willing to give second chances." Jack smiled, remembering silly things he did in his younger years.

"So anyway, we had all these pokemon lined up, ready to be tested. Of course, the idea of real, live, fire breathing, electric shooting etcetera monsters would not be accepted easily by the general public." Kyle continued.

"Even though the special attacks like fire and electricity have no affect on anything but other pokemon." Jack said.

"So we planned to give the pokemon a test run. Go to a few gaming conventions, advertise a special pokemon event, get some real kids to come and test out the pokemon in real battles. We would film it and show that there is no danger with the pokemon." Kyle said. Then his face fell and he became solemn. Jacks expression matched.

"Unfortunately, we never got that far." Jack sighed.

"What do you mean?" Lizzie asked. The plan seemed flawless to her.

"Follow me. You need to see this for yourselves." Jack said, beckoning them. They followed him and Kyle through various sliding doors. Lizzie looked over at Alex as they walked. Their eyes met and Lizzie offered a small smile. Alex returned it. The blast from her dark past seemed to have passed, and she seemed to be curious again. Both the looks on their faces still held the same thought. _This is crazy!_

"Here we are." Jack said, motioning to a huge, metal door. Kyle pressed the correct code on the pad, and the metal doors slowly opened. Inside this room the lighting was even darker then the rest of the lab. The room was filled room to room with pods that each seemed to have once held something. Some pods were bigger then others, and each one had huge tubs and wires hooked up to it. The tubes and wires seemed to end at the humongous computer at the end of the room. The last, most noticeable feature of the pods is that the glass that coated each one seemed to have been smashed open, each one having jagged glass still clinging to edges of the pods. The room had a very tragic feel to it, as if something horrible had happened there.

"This is where we kept the pokemon in this base." Kyle said. He actually seemed sad, for once. "This is where they all slept in hibernation, waiting for the day the world would accept them and they could roam free. Unfortunately, they had a very rude awakening." Kyle said as they began walking towards the computer at the end of the huge room.

"Our last project went horribly wrong. We decided to create the most powerful pokemon, a prize for all the trainers to strive for." Jack continued. "Mewtwo. We tried to make him the most powerful over all the rest. Unfortunately we also gave him the free will the rest of the pokemon had, and we made him too powerful. We realized too late, but he was plotting against us. He wanted to create a world of pokemon only. Completely eradicate the humans. Just before we disabled his special attacks so they would only work on other pokemon, he broke free. He destroyed all the pods, releasing all the pokemon here, including Charmander, Pikachu, and the Zubat you saw earlier. He also had more to his plan then releasing the pokemon. He was connected to the main computer here, and right under our noses, he created a virus." Jack gestured to the computer and opened a file on it. The file revealed a jumble of numbers:

263462'''##''''R'''?)(^2543..I…~`64107,,V8!!57454)))U--+=$';;S|/\/\…666

"That's the virus code?" Alex asked.

"Yes. We call it the 'RIVUS' because that's what the letters spell out in the code. Mewtwo was able to infect many the pokemon here while he was hooked up. The RIVUS takes away the free will of the pokemon, making it bow to the will of Mewtwo. Also, it allows the special attacks to harm anything, including humans." Jack shuddered. He put his head in his hands. "What have we done? What have I done?"

"This just happened a couple of weeks ago. We were able to capture one of the infected pokemon. An infected pokemon can be identified by a red, R shaped scar on its body. We are still learning a lot about the RIVUS, and so far we have not figured out a way to remove it from the pokemon. In fact, we had to break down the pokemon back into its data form and load it back onto to computer for further testing. We believe Mewtwo will not rest until all the pokemon are infected and he has a large enough army to fight against the humans." Kyle said. Jack, seeming to have composed himself, continued.

"The only thing that's strong enough to thwart Mewtwo's plans is trained pokemon. Unfortunately, all the pokemon we created were young and naive. Most of them don't know many of the moves they have in their learn set. They can learn, in time, but we have no trainers. Not only that, but the pokemon from here who weren't infected escaped from the lab and are currently hiding from Mewtwo. Some however, are trying to help, like Charmander and Pikachu." Jack said that with a slight smile. "And some are scared and will attack anything, like the Zubat. That can be dangerous seeing as physical attacks can still do harm, as Lizzie knows."

"What?" Lizzie asked, confused.

"That cut on the back of your neck came from one the Zubat's wing attacks." Kyle said. Lizzie vaguely remembered the sharp pain from getting hit by the Zubat's wing. She now became aware of the stinging sensation on the back of her neck.

"Oh, I completely forgot about that. But now that you mention it, yeah, ow." Lizzie mumbled, reaching to touch the cut, blood long since dried over top of it.

"Oh my god! Lizzie, are you okay?" Alex gasped, concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it." Lizzie reassured. Kyle nodded.

"It's not deep so it will heal up nicely. But all the same, it proves how dangerous this situation proves. Usually the pokemon know better then to attack needlessly." Kyle sighed.

"Then we'll help! We'll train the pokemon. The pokemon relate better to kids, right? Let us help!" Lizzie offered. Alex nodded in agreement.

"Absolutely not! Were you not listening? It is far too dangerous! We cannot allow teenagers to clean up a mess we adults caused. You came here for answers. You got them. Now you can leave." Jack scowled.

"But-" Alex started.

"I won't hear anymore about it! I thank you for saving our Charmander and Pikachu, but now it's time for you to go back to your lives as if this never happened. And I please ask you not to mention this to ANYBODY! Not that anybody will believe you." Jack said, ushering them down through the halls, passed the sliding doors and back to the elevator. Lizzie and Alex both wore a frustrated, yet defeated look. Neither of them could just forget that this ever happened. They stepped into the elevator.

"We will deal with it, I assure you." Kyle said.

"Yeah, you've done a great job dealing with it so far." Alex rolled her eyes just as the elevator door closed.

* * *

Oh wow, that was long. My fingers hurt. Well hope you enjoyed! Review if you have anything to say or any questions. No flames though!

ShineyEyes


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